Use of Passive Voice

Active voice and passive voice refer to the form of a verb. In the active, the
subject of the verb is the person or thing doing the action, whereas in the
passive the action is done to the subject ( L.G. Alexander, 2001, 241)
Passive voice is used when the focus is on the action. It is not important or not
known; however, who or what is performing the action.
Example: My bike was stolen.

In the example above, the focus is on the fact that my bike was stolen. I do not
know, however, who did it. Sometimes a statement in passive is more polite
than active voice, as the following example shows:
Example: A mistake was made.

In this case, I focus on the fact that a mistake was made, but I do not blame
anyone (e.g. You have made a mistake.)
Prepositions
1. The agent,(L.G. Alexander, 2001, 244) or the doer is the person or the thing
that performs the action indicated by the verb and it is introduced in the
passive constructions by by, but information can be given by means of
phrases other than by + agent.

 The window was broken by the boy.

A subject – question in the active is often answered by a passive, so that the
important information is emphasized by being at the end.
 Who composed that piece?/ It was composed by Mozart.
By is put at the end of questions with who/whom.
 Who(m) was Heidi written by?

2. Thomson (2010, 267) points out that when a verb + preposition + object
combination is put into passive, the preposition will remain immediately
after verb:
Active: He must write to him.
Passive: He must be written to.
 Similarly with verb + preposition/adverb combinations:
Active: They threw away the old newspapers.
Passive: The old newspapers were thrown away.

Form of Passive
Subject + finite form of to be + Past Participle (3rd column of irregular verbs)
Example: A letter was written.

When rewriting active sentences in passive voice, note the following:

 the object of the active sentence becomes the subject of the passive sentence
 the finite form of the verb is changed (to be + past participle)
 the subject of the active sentence becomes the object of the passive sentence
(or is dropped)
There are some situations when the form or the meaning of the verb has to be
taken into consideration when talking about passive voice ( L.G. Alexander,
2001, 243).
The passive occurs only with verbs used transitively, verbs that can be followed
by an object. Some verbs may be used transitively or intransitively:
 The door opened.(perhaps by itself)
 The door was opened. (perhaps by someone)
Some active verbs sometimes have passive meaning:
 This surface cleans easily. – it is cleaned easily
 This wine is selling quickly.
A category of verbs generally used in the passive than in the active voice like: to
be born, to be married, to be obliged.
 I’m not obliged to work overtime.

Examples of Passive

Tense Subject Verb Object

writes a letter.
Present Active: Rita
Simple
Passive A letter is written by Rita.
 :

Past Active: Rita wrote a letter.

Simple
Passive A letter was written by Rita.
:
Present Active: Rita has written a letter.
Perfect
Passive A letter has been written by Rita.
:
Future I Active: Rita will write a letter.
Passive A letter will be written by Rita.
:
Modals Active: Rita can write a letter.
Passive A letter can be written by Rita.
:
Examples of Passive

Tense Subject Verb Object

is writing a letter.
Present Active: Rita
Progressive
Passive: A letter is being written by Rita.
Past Active: Rita was writing a letter.
Progressive
Passive: A letter was being written by Rita.
Past Active: Rita had written a letter.
Perfect
Passive: A letter had been written by Rita.
Future II Active: Rita will have written a letter.
Passive: A letter will have been by Rita.
written
Conditional Active: Rita would write a letter.
I
Passive: A letter would be written by Rita.
Conditional Active: Rita would have written a letter.
II
Passive: A letter would have been by Rita.
written
Passive Sentences with Two Objects
Rewriting an active sentence with two objects in passive voice means that one of
the two objects becomes the subject, the other one remains an object. Which
object to transform into a subject depends on what you want to put the focus on.

Subject Verb Object 1 Object 2

wrote a letter to me.

Active: Rita
Passive A letter was written to me by Rita.
:
Passive I was written a letter by Rita.
:

As you can see in the examples, adding by Rita does not sound very elegant.
That’s why it is usually dropped.
Personal and Impersonal Passive
Personal Passive simply means that the object of the active sentence becomes
the subject of the passive sentence. So every verb that needs an object
(transitive verb) can form a personal passive.
Example: They build houses. – Houses are built.

Verbs without an object (intransitive verb) normally cannot form a personal

passive sentence (as there is no object that can become the subject of the
passive sentence). If you want to use an intransitive verb in passive voice, you
need an impersonal construction – therefore this passive is called Impersonal
Passive.
Example: he says – it is said

Impersonal Passive is not as common in English as in some other languages

(e.g. German, Latin). In English, Impersonal Passive is only possible with verbs
of perception (e. g. say, think, know).
Example: They say that women live longer than men. – It is said that
women live longer than men.
Although Impersonal Passive is possible here, Personal Passive is more
common.
Example: They say that women live longer than men. – Women are said
to live longer than men.

The subject of the subordinate clause (women) goes to the beginning of the
sentence; the verb of perception is put into passive voice. The rest of the
sentence is added using an infinitive construction with 'to' (certain auxiliary
verbs and that are dropped).
Sometimes the term Personal Passive is used in English lessons if the indirect
object of an active sentence is to become the subject of the passive sentence.
Uses: (L.G. Alexander, 2001, 244)
1. Spontaneous and deliberate use of the passive. The passive is sometimes
deliberately chosen in preference to the active, especially when speakers do
not wish to commit themselves to actions, opinions:
 This matter will be dealt with as soon as possible.
2. The passive for focus. We use the passive when we wish to focus on a
happening which is more important to us than who or what causes the
happening.
 Our roof was damaged in last night’s storm.
3. Avoiding vague words as subjects. We prefer the passive when we wish to
avoid using a vague word as a subject like someone, a person, etc.
 I was asked to explain a point I had made.
Thomson (2010, 266) points out that the passive may be used to avoid an
awkward or ungrammatical sentence. This is usually done by avoiding a change
of subject.
 When their mother was ill neighbours looked after the children. – would
be better expressed – when their mother was ill the children were looked
after by neighbours.